Traversable hardware in guideway for shelf or drapery use

ABSTRACT

A GUIDEWAY AND MEMBER TRANSVERSABLE THEREIN IS SHOWN, THE MEMBER IS RESILIENTLY URGED INTO CONTACT WITH THE GUIDEWAY TO RESIST MOVEMENT BY FORCE APPLIED THROUGH A MOMENT ARM. THE GUIDEWAY IS CONFIGURED AS A SLOTTED BOX SECTION WHEREIN THE MEMBER IS URGED AGAINST THE INNER SURFACES OF LIP PROJECTIONS BOUDING THE SLOT.

y 25, 1971 R. E. GARTZKE 3,579,710

TRAVERSABLE HARDWARE IN GUIDEWAY FOR SHELF OR DRAPERY USE Filed Sept. 9,1968 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIGS RUDOLF E. GARTZKE INVENTOR BY 7 L ff ,d n/f/ATTORNEY y 25, 1971 R a. GARTZKE 3,579,710

TRVERSABLE HARDWARE IN GUIDEWAY FOR SHELFOR DRAPERY USE Filed Sept. 9,1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 RUDOLF E. (BART E INVEN BY [Q22 ATTORN y 25, 1971R. E. GARTZKE 3,579,110

TRAVERSABLE HARDWARE IN GUIDEWAY FOR SHELF OR DRAPERY USE Filed Sept. 9,1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 RUDOLF E. GARTZKE INVENTOR BY x ATTORNEY.

United States Patent U.S. (3:16-93 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Aguideway and member traversable therein is shown; the member isresiliently urged into contact with the guideway to resist movement byforce applied through a moment arm. The guideway is configured as aslotted box section wherein the member is urged against the innersurfaces of lip projections bounding the slot.

This application is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 650,480 filedJune 30, 1967, and now abandoned, and is a continuation-in-part of Ser.No. 691,104 filed Dec. 4, 1967, and now abandoned.

This invention relates to a guideway and slide member traversabletherein which is suitable for various uses such as, for example,shelves, shelf dividers or traverse hardware for draperies, and moreparticularly relates to an article in which one or more members arecontinuously insertable and adjustable in a guideway.

Articles such as books, [filed folders, etc. which are stored on openshelves must be held in upstanding position by book-end means; similarlydrapes must be supported from members which are continuously and easilyadjustable along a traverse rod. The means of this invention provides auniversal continuously adjustable, easily insertable guide in a guidewaycombination which is adaptable for use in shelving, shelf dividers,drapery hardware and other similar uses.

It is an object of this invention to provide a combination of aresiliently retained slideable member and guideway in which it iscontinuously insertable and adjustable.

it is another object of this invention to provide supporting means andretaining guideway therefor for use with shelving, draperies, etc.

Other objects will become apparent from the following detaileddescription and accompanying drawings in which like numeral refer tolike parts and in which:

'FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shelf divider embodiment of thisinvention shown juxtaposed with a shelf;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of a portion of an embodiment of FIG. 1 ofthis invention;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of a portion of another shelf dividerembodiment of this invention shown in a position of spring compressionpreliminary to being adjusted in a guideway;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of another shelf divider embodiment of thisinmention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view in partial cutalway of an embodiment ofthis invention comprising a vertically adjustable horizontal shelf;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of another embodiment of thisinvention for use as drapery traverse hardware.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, shelf 10 is disposed in near adjacencyto a vertical wall surface, not shown, to which extruded guideway 11 canbe secured by screws or other convenient means. Divider 12 isperpendicularly disposed relative to shelf 10 and is manually adjustedalong the length of shelf 10 by lifting the front edge of "ice dinallyalong guideway 11 above shelf 10-. When manual force on divider 12 isreleased, it is frictionally secured against further movement by theresilient urging of means 19 (FIG. 2). Divider 12 is operably insertedinto guideway *11 at any point along the length of the guideway byplacing the uppermost extremity of guide member 13 (FIG. 2) into the toprear interior portion of guideway 11 and then moving the lowermostextremity of guide member 13 rearwardly into the guideway. Divider 12may then be laterally adjusted to desired position and when releasedwill seat firmly in the guideway.

As shown in FIG. 2, divider 12 is unitarily affixed to guide member 13-by connecting reinforcement. Guide member 13 is of sufficiently greatlateral width to provide suflicient contact area with the guideway andtransverse dimension to substantially eliminate unwanted movement ortwisting of member 13 in guideway 11. Foot portion 15 of guide member 13is receivable in channel 16- of guideway 11 and chamfer 17 is disposedat the upper extremity of the guide member adjacent c'hamfer 18 ofguideway 11 so that the two chamfers will operably seat, one against theother. The surfaces of chamfers 17 and '18 may be slip-resisting toprevent relative movement therebetween when they are in contact; suchsurfaces may be provided by coating with abrasive or rubber or resinsuch as poly-urethane or other material which imparts a high frictionalcoefficient to the surfaces. Spring 19 is provided to act against therear interior surface of guideway 11 to urge guide member 13 forward ina manner to bring chamfers 17 and 18 into contact. Spring 19 is shown inFIG. 2 as a helical spring preferably aflixed to guide member 16. Ofcourse, guide member 13' is configured to limit movement of divider 12so that it does not rest on shelf 10 and thereby prevent firm contactbetween chamfers 17 and 18, but rather is configured to support divider12 above shelf 10 and insure sound contact between the chamfer surfaces.

Guideway I11 may be formed or fabricated in any operable manner, but ispreferably extruded from metal or synthetic resin and cut to length asappropriate either during manufacture or installation. For shelvesprovided with a back panel, guideway 11 may be secured thereto, or inthe absence of a back panel, to a wall surface. It is a particularadvantage of this invention that no alteration, modification or additionis required of shelving for installation of the means herein described,and therefore installation costs are minimal.

Divider 12 may be made from any suitable material such as wood, metal orsynthetic resin, the latter material in the form of opticallytransparent plate acrylic resin being preferred for use as a shelfdivider because articles next adjacent a divider can be read oridentified by viewing through the divider without requiring the divideror article to be removed or withdrawn. Guide member 13 may be made fromsimilar material and if desired may be molded unitarily with divider 12with spring 19 being inserted into a mold prior to the resin so that itwill be the divider slightly and then sliding divider 12 longituembeddedin the finished molded article. Numerous synthetic resins may be usedwith high impact strength materials being preferred for use.

Chamfers 17 and 18 are preferably held in firm contact to resisttwisting movement of divider 12 in response to forces exerted through amoment arm. Only a rearward and upward force which tends to rotate guidemember 13 about foot portion 15 thereof and to compress spring 19 willoperably serve to remove chamfers 17 and 18 from mutual contact andfacilitate lateral movement of divider 12.

In, FIG. 3 is shown another embodiment of this invention wherein spring19' is shown configured .as a leaf rather than as a helix as in FIG. 2.Spring 19 may be afiixed to guideway 11 as shown or to guide member 13as may be desired. The material of construction may be metal, syntheticresin, glass fiber reinforced synthetic resin or other resilientmaterial which is characterized by sufiicient modulus of elasticity;although rubber or foamed resin may be used, it is not preferred exceptpossibly in applications such as shown in FIG. 6. A resilient contactingforce of several pounds as desirable in FIGS. l-S is best obtained by ametal spring, either integral with guide member 13 or guideway 11, orseparate from either.

The disposition of guide member 13 on divider 12 may be near either theupper or lower extremity thereof or intermediate the extremities asshown or may be mounted on the bottom of the next higher shelf or may berecessed into the top of the shelf to which the divider is fitted. Withapparent modification in the peripheral position of guide member 13relative to divider 12, guideway 11 may be positioned on either thefront or rear edge of a shelf. To increase frictional contact betweenguide member 13 and guideway 11, foot portion 15 may be broadened in themanner of chamfer 17, and in addition any of the contacting surfaces ofthe chamfers and of the foot portion and channel may be serrated orotherwise provided with surface texture or character to increaseresistance to movement when the guide member is seated in the channel.

In FIG. 4 is shown another preferred embodiment of a guide member andguideway of this invention. Guide member 13' is integral with divider12' at the upper rear extremity of the divider and is configured with afoot portion 15' depending slightly at the lower extremity of the guidemember. Foot portion 15' runs in channel 16 of guideway 11' when themembers are operably engaged. The upper extremity of guide member 13 isconfigured with elevated runner 23 and tapered shoulder 24 disposed tobe in near adjacency to the lower surfaces of spacer 25 and lip 26,respectively, when guide member 13' and guideway 11 are engaged. A closefit between guide member 13 in guideway 11 enables the guide member torun freely in the guideway when spring 19" is compressed in response toforce components parallel to a longitudinal axis of guideway 11, but toresist movement by force components which would twist guide member 13'about an axis perpendicular thereto. The dimension of guideway 11'perpendicular to the surface to which the guideway is attachable ispreferably about one-half inch, or such lesser dimension as may beoccupied by means, if any, for adjustably retaining the shelves, 50 thatusable shelf area is not reduced by guideway 11. The guide member andthe guideway may be provided with high frictional coeflicient surfacesas hereinbefore described; however, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4there are no chamfered fraying surfaces, and contact is made by guidemember 13 bearing against lip 26.

In FIG. 5 is shown an embodiment of this invention disposed as ahorizontal shelf. Guideway 11" is configured with recessed channeldisposed interiorly of side rail 31 and is further configured withchamfer 18 comprising a curved surface, disposed interiorly of side rail32. Guideway 11" may be secured vertically to a wall with rails 31 and32 projectingoutwardly from the wall surface. Lip 26' is shownprojecting beyond chamfer 18'. Guide member 13" is configured to fitclosely in guideway 11" and to slide easily through the guideway. Footportion 33 of guide member 13" projects into channel 30 and guide member13" is firmly seated in guideway 11 by chamfered surface 17' beingforcibly contacted against chamfer 18'. Contact may be implemented byresilient means hereinbefore described or by use of either resilientcurved resinous member 35 being disposed interiorly of guideway 11"between the guide member and the guideway or by yoke member 36 beingoperably inserted between guideway 11" and shelf 12". Guide member 13"is afiixed to shelf 12" and fillets 37 may be provided as shown aboveand/or below shelf 12" to structurally reinforce the shelf. To traverseunitary guide member and shelf along guide- 4 way 11", members 35 and 36are removed, if present, and forcible engagement between curved chamber18' and chamfered surface 17' is relieved thereby enabling shelf 12" tobe raised or lowered to desired position. Re-engaging chamfered surface17' with charnfer 18 seats guide member 13" and locks shelf 12" inposition. Alternate locking member 38 is shown disposed apart from guidemember 13 and guideway 11" in position for being inserted between therear interior of guideway 11" and the back of guide member 13". Member38 is dimensioned to drop easily into place, but without additionalclearance than is required therefor to assure that chamfered surface 17'of guide member 13" is kept in near adjacency to chamfer 18 and thatfoot portion 33 is retained in channel 30. While foot portion 33 isoperably seated in channel 30, a force vector acting perpendicularly tothe faces of cantilevered member 12", or the mere weight of member 12will frictionally bind foot portion 33 in channal 30 and preventrelative movement therebetween. Insertion of any one of member 35, 36,or 38 will insure seating of foot portion 33 in channel 30 andfrictional contact between guide member 13" and guideway 11". To removeguide member 13" from guideway 11", the guide member is manipulated toplace chamfered surface 17' immediately adjacent to a rear interiorcorner of guideway 11" thereby clearing foot portion 33 of channel 30and enabling the guide member to be moved free of guideway 1" and bewithdrawn therefrom.

In FIG. 6 is shown another embodiment of this invention wherein traversehardware for draperies comprises guideway 11 configured with two curvedchamfers 18" and 18 symmetrically disposed so that disorientation withrespect to inverted position is impossible. Drapery hanger members 13are configured with symmetrically disposed surfaces 17" and 17", whichengage surfaces 18" and 18, respectively, and which may either be curvedor fiat and preferably are of low frictional character for easytraversing in guideway 11". The upper and lower rearward face portions40 of slide members 13" are configured as forward extending recesses toprovide space for passage of draw cords 42 between the rear of slidemembers 13" and guideway 11"; alternatively, cords 49 may be threadedthrough passages 41 in members 13". Fastening studs 43 are provided inslides 13" as terminal anchor means for cords 49, but are used only inthe terminal members 13" disposed adjacent the leading edge of thedrapery which is drawn to effect closure of the draperies. Thearrangement of cords and drapery hangers is conventional with two pullcords being manipulated to open or close the drapery.

Drapery hook portions 44 are integral with member 13" as shown andproject forward into position for re ceiving rings or hooks which aresecured to drapery fabric. The dimension of members 13" longitudinallyof guideway 11" is at least as great for the portion thereof disposedwithin the confines of guideway 11" as for portions extendingtherebeyond so that force of contact between members 13" is exertedsubstantially axially coincidentally with the interior confine ofguideway 11" and without a component force acting through a moment armwhich would tend to twist a member 13" and cause it to bind in guideway11".

Resilient spring clip 45- clips on recessed portion 46 of member 13" andis bowed to exert only very moderate force to retain member 13 incontact with surfaces 18", 18"; high frictional coeificient for thecontacting surfaces. is undesirable and consequently only light springpressure is desirable. Alternatively, other spring means or otherresilient means such as elastomeric or plastomeric foamed or solid resinmay be used in place of spring 45. It is desirable, but not necessary,to provide sufiicient clearance to enable member 13" to be inserted intoguideway 11" anywhere along its length in a manner as hereinbeforedescribed; however, members 13" may be of such dimension as to requireinsertion into the open end of guideway 11". Screw holes 47 are providedin guideway 11" for fastening the hardware in position for use. Allmanner of mounting and use of the described drapery hardware isconventional. Guideway 11" may be used in the embodiments of thisinvention as hereinbefore described in relation and in place of guideway11 of FIGS. 1-3, guideway 11' of FIG. 4, guideway 11" of FIG. 5, and maybe preferred in the last mentioned figure to guideway 11" thereof.

While certain modifications and embodiments of the invention have beendescribed for use as shelving, shelf dividers and drapery hardware, itis of course to be understood that there are a great number ofvariationsand uses which will suggest themselves to anyone familiar with thesubject matter hereof and it is to be distinctly understood that thisinvention should not be limited in its scope and uses except bylimitations clearly imposed in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A retaining guideway and a traversable slide member operable thereincomprising in combination (a) a guideway configured with a longitudinalslot therein, said slot communicating volumes interior and exteriorthereof and substantially co-extensive therewith, the edges of saidguideway being of continuous, substantially parallel configuration alongthe length of said guideway;

(b) said interior volume of said guideway extending therewithin beyondthe faces of said slot;

(c) said slide member being configured to be operably received in saidguideway and to be slideably in contact with at least one interiorsurface of said guideway projecting rearwardly from said slot and befixedly retained therein by being frictionally urged into contact withthe interior surface of the side of said guideway in which said slot isdisposed;

(d) a projecting portion of said slide member extending through saidslot exteriorly of said guideway;

(e) a spacer member disposed intermediate said guideway and said slidemember disposed to urge said slide member toward said slot, said slidemember being operably traversable longitudinally of said guideway.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein the said interior surface of theside of said guideway in which said slot is disposed comprises adepending projection sub- 6 stantially bounding one extremity of saidslot and a chan nel substantially bounding the other extremity of saidslot and wherein said slide member is configured with one extremitydisposed to fay with said depending projection and with a foot portiondisposed to be received in said channel and supported thereby.

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein said depending projectioncomprises a chamfer.

4. The combination of claim 1 wherein said projecting portion of saidslide member extending through said slot is configured as a cantileverfor receiving drapery hooks.

5. The combination of claim 1 wherein said slide member is configuredwith forward extending recess portions in the rear face thereof whichprovide space between said guideway and said slide member for passage ofdrapery cords.

6. The combination of claim 1 wherein means are provided in said slidemember for anchoring cord means.

7. The combination of claim 1 wherein said spacer member comprisesresilient means.

8. The combination of claim 1 wherein locking means is provided forrestraining movement of said slide member from contact with saidinterior surface of the side of said guideway in which said slot isdisposed.

9. The combination of claim 1 wherein said projecting portion of saidslide member extending through said slot is of substantially planarconfiguration disposed substantiall perpendicularly to the longitudinalaxis of said guideway.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,254,766 1/1918 Blades 211-184UX2,015,269 9/1935 Henry 16-93 2,688,409 9/1954 Echlin 211-484 3,248,7495/1966 Williams 16--93 3,366,998 2/1968 Jansson 2473BCMF 3,434,5243/1969 Fein 1687.4X

FOREIGN PATENTS 233,532 4/1961 Australia 1693 394,537 11/1965Switzerland 21143 DONALD A. GRIFFIN, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R.211184

